Taiga Kagami
Taiga Kagami is Tetsuya Kuroko's basketball colleague and friend. He is determined to defeat the Generation of Miracles. He plays as a power forward with Seirin. Appearance Kagami is very muscular for a high school boy. He is very tall, which gives him an overwhelming aura, some say he resembles a tiger.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 8 He has dark red hair and red eyes. His eyes are also very narrow and his eyebrows are split. He wears the jersey with the number 10 and wears black and red basketball shoes. He is also occasionally seen with a metal necklace with a ring on it, that represents his friendship with Tatsuya Himuro. When he is seen in his school uniform, he keeps his vest unzipped, with a white shirt underneath. Personality Kagami is very ambitious, stubborn and determined. He refuses to give up in a difficult situationand is very head strong. He is mostly known for his undying and furious fighting spirit. He enjoys to play against strong opponents and sees no point in playing basketball when there are no stronger opponents. The down-side of this, is that he is also very hot-headedKuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 6 and has a short temper. When Kuroko brought Tetsuya #2 to the training, it is revealed that Kagami is scared of dogs.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 74, page 9 This fear originates from his time in America, where he was once bitten by a dog. He overcame this fear when he realized that Tetsuya #2 is good fot the team and petted it. He is also a glutton and is able to eat at least five times a normal meal. He is shown to be a great cook. During the series and especially after the Interhigh and during the Winter Cup, Kagami has matured a lot. Instead of going up against every provocation and becoming hot-headed quickly, he thinks before he acts and has developed some sort of hindsight that lets him simulate a possible one-on-one battle. Even though that he still hates losing, he has somewhat took peace with it. Now, he has become a much more clever player that doesn't plunge into battles without thinking first.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 117, page 10 History In third grade, Kagami moved to the States and attended school there. He had a hard time making friends because of his foreign appearance, but he met Tatsuya Himuro, who invited him to play street basketball with him. Kagami accepted and made his first friend. Kagami, who was still a beginner back then, admired Himuro's talent in basketball and how he made friends that way. When he asked Himuro how to get friends, Himuro told him it came because of basketball, and asked Kagami to play basketball and Himuro would train him. Himuro thought him a lot and Kagami quickly improved and he also made friends. Himuro and Kagami grew closer to each other Kagami saw Himuro as an older brother. In an act of kindness, Himuro bought two rings, gave one to Kagami and told him that those rings are the proof that they're brothers.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 9 Three years later, because Himuro was one year older than Kagami, Himuro graduated before him. They lost eachother out of sight, until they reunited one year later. Kagami was seen playing basketball and he was invited by some boys to play with their team. They told him he'd be of great value in the competition against another team, with the winner getting the court. The boys tell him that the other team recently got a strong player and Kagami is interested. He decides to join their match and is amazed when he sees Himuro there. Himuro tells hims to play fair and square, hinting that he shouldn't go easy just because they know each other. Kagami agrees and he wins against Himuro for the first time.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 12 After that, they played every week and they each lost and won the same amount. After 98 games, Himuro tells Kagami that if he loses the next game, he won't see Kagami as his little brother anymore, because the big brother is always stronger than the little brother. In the 99th game, Kagami finds out that Himuro has injured his wrist. Himuro shoots, misses and Kagami runs for the fast break. He goes up for the lay-up, but couldn't bear to win against Himuro and misses on purpose. After the game, Himuro punches Kagami. He tells him that the next match, they'll bet on the ring that represents their friendship. He says to treat the previous game as a draw. And tells him that when he loses the next time, he will have to pretend that they never were friends. But before they had a rematch, Kagami flew back to Japan, not seeing Himuro again for 2 years.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 76, page 18 Story Introduction Kagami is first introduced at Seirin High School's opening ceremony, when he walked in on Koganei and brought him back to the basketball booth. He fills in a registration paper but doesn't write his future goals. When Riko asks him about that, he simply says that Japanese basketball is easy, and leaves.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 9 On the first training, he is seen standing with the other Seirin players. Riko orders them to take off their shirts and she activates her Scan to examine their bodies. When she arrives at Kagami, she sees that his stats are exceptionally high and is very impressed.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 16 So impressed, that she even drools at the sight of his muscles. Riko gets her act together and doesn't see Kuroko anywhere. Kuroko reveals himself and Kagami is very surprised to see a Generation of Miracles who looks this weak. After the training, Kagami goes to a fast-food and orders around 15 hamburgers. He sits at Kuroko's table, without noticing him. Kuroko scares him and Kagami asks what he is doing here. Kuroko replies that he is just watching people. Kagami asks him to tag along somewhere, when he finishes his food.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 21 Kuroko and Kagami go to an empty basketball court and Kagami explains that he's searching for strong basketball players in Japan. He tells Kuroko that he knows he's from the Generation and asks what he is hiding. He challenges Kuroko to a one-on-one, because he wants to see for himself. Kuroko accepts.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 25 When Kagami and Kuroko play, Kagami sees that Kuroko is desperately weak. He thinks that Kuroko is still hiding something, but Kuroko denies this, saying that he knows Kagami is stronger than him. Kuroko tells Kagami that he only agreed to play to see Kagami's strength. Kagami gets ready to leave, saying he won't play weak guys. He tells Kuroko that he should just quit basketball. Kuroko refuses and reveals his true fighting spirit. He says that his strength is different than Kagami's strength, saying that he is a shadow. On the next training, Riko suggests a match, the freshmen against the second-years. Kagami motivates the team by saying that he'd rather play against strong opponents than weak ones. The match begins and Kagami immediately dunks. The match goes on to 11 - 8, with only Kagami scoring.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 1, page 35 Seirin vs Kaijō Interhigh preliminaries Semi-finals Finals Final league Return of Kiyoshi Summer Training Camp Interhigh Pre-Winter Cup Winter Cup preliminaries As the Seirin High team was gathering to leave for the Winter Cup preliminaries, Kagami is seen playing with a ball with his left hand. Furihata says that his left hand got a lot better and Kagami replies that he had trained a lot, even by eating with only his left hand. Furihata also notices that Kagami still can't sleep before a match, by looking at Kagami's red and bloodshot eyes.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 82, page 4 At the Winter Cup, Seirin's best of 4 determination match is about to begin and Kagami is a starter. The match commences and Kagami lines up for the jump ball. some time in the game, Josei High is leading with 8 points and Kagami is shown to be completely stuck with two players guarding him at all times. Kagami gets his ball stolen and can't do a lot during the match. Kiyoshi takes the initiative and gets the points and Kuroko is eventually able to pass his Ignite Pass to Kagami on the other side of the court and Kagami jumps so high that he hits his forehead on the rim.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 82, page 17 The first quarter ends and Kagami is dragged to the bench. During the latter part of the match, Kagami is still guarded by two men and his frustration is piling up. He is put to his senses by Kuroko, who points out that Imayoshi and Sakurai from Tōō are watching and that Kagami should show something good. Kagami agrees and when he gets the ball, he sees the demotivated defense and breaks through. He is immediatly guarded by Narumi, but that is useless, as Kagami jumps from the freethrow line and dunks the ball. This extraordinary feat, the lane-up, brings Kagami closer to the Generation of Miracles and breaks an imaginary gate of the geniuses.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 14 While dunking the ball, Kagami loses his balance and falls on his back. Kuroko helps him up and the match eventually ends with Seirin's win. As the Seirin team is leaving the WC building, Kuroko and Kagami stay behind. they go to a street basketball court. Kuroko asks if Kagami can be his practice partner for his new Vanishing Drive. Kagami lines up for defense and Kuroko suddenly passes him. Although the ball does slip from his hand, Kagami is amazed and admits that his new drive is unstoppable. He grabs Kuroko's ball and notices that it's completely slippery and worn out. Kuroko says that it's the sixth ball already and Kagami is shocked by Kuroko's intensive training.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 84, page 9 Final league The next day, the final league commences. Seirin plays against Shinsenkan High and overwhelms them with their growth over the past months. The match is dominated by Seirin and in the last play of the match, Kuroko uses his invisible pass to reach Kagami under the basket. Kagami jumps and scores a powerful gorilla dunk. He ends the match with Seirin's win.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 84, page 13 Winter Training Camp As the rest of Seirin was training in the mountains with Kagetora, Kagami went back to America in order to meet his old basketball masterKuroko no Basuke chapter 111, page 18, Alexandra Garcia. While in America, Alexandra gave him the assignment to play gambling basketball for one week. The bet for each match was 10 dollars and his starting money was also 10 dollars, forcing Kagami to win from the bat. Alexandra explains that he has to play like his life depends on it (because it probably will, Kagami played against gangsters and thugs for money) to regain his animal instinct.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 123, page 8 Kagami played basketball in the States to train his animal instinct and when reaching that, his five sense will be heightend and his reflexes, speed and jumping ability will be brought to the extreme. After that week, Alexandra trained him personally. Winter Cup When the Winter Cup started, he forgot about the time difference between the US and Japan and missed the opening ceremony. He re-appears when Kuroko is meeting with the rest of the Generation of Miracles. He stands up for Furihata when he was told to go away by Akashi. Akashi approaches and attacks Kagami with Midorima's scissors.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 113, page 14 Kagami dodges at the last moment. Akashi lets him off the hook, but threatens to end his life if Kagami disobeys him again. It is seen that Akashi's scissors grazed Kagami's face, bleeding a bit. Akashi later leaves. Kagami is seen in the locker room before the match against Tōō High. Kuroko tells him it's time and looks worried about him. Kagami says that it's fine, that he was only shocked about Akashi but that he is only thinking about Aomine, and nothing else. The match begins and both players enter the court. Kagami encounters Aomine and he senses that Kagami has gotten better. Kagami agrees, telling him that he got a little better.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 114, page 13 The match begins with the tip-off and Seirin gains the ball. Izuki dribbles the ball up fast and Seirin prepares for a fast and strong offensive, but a strong defensive Tōō awaits them. The ball gets stolen and Aomine eventually dunks the first point. Meanwhile, Kagami has just arrived at the basket and is taunted by Aomine. Kagami brings the ball back in the game by passing to Izuki. The ball goes to Kuroko and he uses his new Ignite Pass Kai and is able to pass to Kiyoshi, who goes for the dunk. However, Wakamatsu appears and almost blocks Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi is still able to pass behind him to Kagami, who suddenly dunks and repays Aomine's favor.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 116, page 8 Tōō outruns Seirin and Kagami receives the ball, going up against Aomine the first time since the Interhigh. Kagetora understands that the outcome of this one-on-one will determine the flow of the match and that Kagami must absolutely win.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 116, page 17 Kagami keeps standing still, but battles Aomine in his head, using a high-level tactical battle. In this simulation, Kagami drives to the basket, makes a cut and loses Aomine for an instant, but Aomine is still able to steal the ball when Kagami pulls up for the shot. Back to reality, Kagami senses that he will lose if he goes up against Aomine now and passes the ball to Izuki. He concludes that he can't beat Aomine, yet. The match goes on with the shoot-off between Hyūga and Sakurai and Seirin goes into the second quarter with a tie. Kuroko decides to use his Vanishing Drive on Aomine and Kagami helps him by screening Kuroko's guard, Susa. As always with the Vanishing Drive, Kagami directs the attention of Aomine to him while Kuroko drives past him. When the drive and later the Igniet Pass Kai both fail against Aomine, Kagami tries to block him, but Aomine shoots besides him and scores. Seirin takes a time-out and while Kuroko is subbed out and is feeling despair, Kagami tells him that his effort wasn't futile, that he will handle Aomine untill Kuroko comes back.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 120, page 16 While stepping back on the court, Kagami is thinking that this time, he will save Kuroko instead of otherwise. In the first play, Kagami passes to Kiyoshi. Aomine is dissapointed, but Kagami tells him he has no intention of running away. Tōō's offense and Aomine carries the ball. He prepares for his infamous change of pace, but Kagami suddenly dives forward and goes for the ball, in an attempt to steal it. Aomine pulls it back just in time and passes Kagami. He pulls up for a shot, but Kagami reacts quickly and jumps behind Aomine for the ball. Because of Kuroko's absence, he was able to unleash his true power and he slams the ball away.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 121, page 14 Seeing an awakened Kagami, Aomine aknowledges him and starts to get serious. He speeds up, but Kagami can still keep up. Aomine then bounces the ball through Kagami's legs, high up in the air. Aomine amazes everyone when he takes the ball from Wakamatsu and scores with his back turned to the ring. In Seirin's offense, Kagami gets the ball and takes Koga's screen. He dribbles to the right, but Aomine shifts past Koga and is right on Kagami's tail. Kagami sees this, does a crossover to the left and takes off for the shot in front of Koga. He dodges Aomine's block and scores the shot.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 122, page 10 He later says to Koga that his screen wasn't really necessary and that he should take Aomine on his own. Back in Tōō's offense, Aomine goes for his infamous formless shot, with Kagami jumping in front of him. The ball was supossedly out of Kagami's reach, but his new strength enables him to block Tōō's ace on his full power shot. Kagami finally begins to surpass Aomine. He later taunts Aomine that he doesn't mind entertaining him, if he has that wide of a margin. The match goes on with face-off after face-off between Kagami and Aomine, with Aomine almost breaking through, but Kagami's defense stays steady. He amazes everyone in the audience with his strength and especially the other Generation of Miracles. The reason why Kagami is able to keep up with Aomine's top speed is because he is only relying on his animal, raw instinct.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 123, page 6 Not only against Aomine, Kagami is also dominating in rebounds. When Kagami grabs another rebound, Seirin's fastbreak begins. He passes the ball to Izuki, who passes it back at the other side of the court. Kagami goes up against Aomine and surprisingly takes off for a shot. His stance is similar to Aomine's formless shot and the shot takes off, but only for Aomine to graze the ball for an instant. The ball flies towards the goal, bounces off the board, circles around in the ring and flies out.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 123, page 14 Half-time is reached and Seirin is only two points behind. During half-time, Kagami seeks for Kuroko and finds him outside, just chillin'. He throws him a vest for warmth. He urges Kuroko to get back inside, but Kuroko asks Kagami is he enjoys basketball. Kuroko then tells Kagami Aomine and his history together and Teikō and how they became friends. He concludes with telling Kagami that he really wants to see Aomine smile again. Kagami says that it's not sure that he'll change if they win, but that winning gives a better shot than losing.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 124, page 17 The third quarter begins and Tōō starts its attack. Aomine gets the ball with Kagami guarding him. Aomine immediately speeds up and is even faster than before. He drives past Kagami. Kuroko then jumps in front and gets an offensive foul out of Aomine. Kagami helps him up and thanks him. After Kuroko gets sealed by Imayoshi, Aomine challenges him to a second round of their duel.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 126, page 19 Skill He is a naturally gifted player that trained in the States prior to coming back to Japan. Kagami is a very powerfull and fast player that is able to execute the fast cuts that can foil even Aomine. His reflexes are top-notch, as he is able to react extremely quick when facing a ball handling expert such as Aomine. He could also block Aomine's formless shot due to his reflexes and sheer skill. Even though his skill in undeniably strong, in regular matches, he is still being held back by Kuroko. He relies on Kuroko a lot and could be thinking that he has to join up with him to defeat the Generation of Miracles. That is what keeps him incomplete, what is hindering his potential. Only when Kagami isn't relying on Kuroko, even more, when Kagami must help Kuroko, he can drag out his full potential and become even stronger.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 121, page 11 When this happens, his jumping power becomes even more great and his overall abilities are greatly heightend. His skill becomes similar to Aomine's, somehow imitating his flexible streetball. Another reason for his sudden peak in ability, is the control of his animal instinct.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 123, page 8 This instinct enables him to play purely on feeling and greatly enhance his five senses, making his reflexes and speed top notch. This only occured in the match against Tōō High. Jumping power Kagami blocks Dad.png|Kagami blocks Papa Mbaye Siki, a player who is 10 cm taller than him Kagami's dunk vs Shutoku WC.png|Kagami's dunk above Shūtoku's centers, Ōtsubo and Kimura Kagami blocks Midorima.png|Kagami blocks Midorima's shot While he is a powerful all-around player, Kagami's unique skill lies in his ability to jump to great heights. This skill facilitates not only his most common move, the dunk, but also allows him to defend well against taller players; he even uses it to break Midorima's perfect shooting. While he generally jumps with his left leg in order to allow him the use of his more dexterous right arm, his right is far stronger, allowing him to touch the top of the backboard as opposed to just hitting the ring.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 61, page 12 The drawback to this ability is that, like certain members of the Generation of Miracles, his body is still too underdeveloped. Thus prolonged use of his jumping prowess can cause damage to his body. Having trained extensively since the Interhigh school championships, he can now dunk from the free-throw line, a feat that may have put him on a level with the Generation of Miracles. He is also able to jump from far away in a difficult position and still be able to block a shot. Self alley-oop A normal alley-oop is when a team-mate throws the ball up high and the scoring player catches the ball and dunks it. Kagami has found a way to do this by himself, that is instead of receiving the ball by passing, shooting the ball himself, grabbing and dunking the ball when it misses.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 28, page 10 & 11 This was a response to Midorima's shooting spree in Seirin's match against Shūtoku High. He tried this again in the match against Tōō High, but was screened out by Susa, Kagami being unable to reach the goal.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 44, page 6 This is also the one obvious weakness of the skill. Lane up A lane up is a dunk from the free-throw line. Kagami had the ability to dunk normally and very high, but in the Winter Cup, against Josei High, he ended the game by breaking through his defense, jumping from the free-throw line and dunking.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 83, page 12 A lane up is very difficult, because being able to reach the basket after jumping such a distance is only possible with an extra-ordinary jumping strength, the kind that Kagami possesses. Vanishing Drive Kuroko's Vanshing Drive is in fact a collaboration with Kagami. While Kuroko is able to pass his opponent's field of vision by bending over and moving in a cross-diagonal move, Kagami makes the misdirection a whole by purposely drawing the attention from the opponent to him, away from Kuroko. This makes it able to perform a successful Vanishing Drive. More details about the Vanishing Drive can be found here Tactical battle In Seirin's match against Tōō in the Winter Cup, Kagami displayed a never before seen skill, a high level tactical battle. This is a highly realistic simulation of a basketball one-on-one in ones minds by reading his opponents subtle feints or moves. This is only possible when the player possesses a skill to accurately read the opponent's strength and movements.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 117, page 12 Kagami used this to play a simulation of a one-on-one against Aomine and accurately determine that he would lose. Zone Kuroko Kagami alley-oop A move that Kuroko and Kagami often execute. One of the opponents tries to pass, but Kuroko intercepts the ball. He smacks the ball onto the ground in the direction of the basket. Kagami jumps high in the sky, grabs the ball and dunks it in. They have first showed this in the match against Shinkyō AcademyKuroko no Basuke chapter 15, page 4, 5 & 6 and did it again in the game against Seihō High.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 22, page 7 & 8 Pressure defense ]]At their match against Shinkyō Academy; Kagami had to defend against Papa Mbaye Siki, a foreign player who is 10 cm taller than him. Before the match Riko had Mitobe learn Kagami how to defend against a player taller than yourself. This technique is simply putting a lot pressure on the regular defense, with the thought "I won't let you play as you want" in your head. When a player is pressured like this, he will experience playing a lot harder and won't get ready as easily.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 14, page 14 Tanimura called this pressure killing intent.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 14, page 15 So far, Kagami only had to use this against Dad. Trivia *On the first character poll, Kagami ranked 3rd, with 1116 votes. *He went down to 4th place on the second poll, with 1036 votes. *Apart from basketball, his skills also include walking on his hands.Kuroko no Basuke chapter 40, page 17 *His birthday is August 2, making him a Leo, and his bloodtype is A. References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Players Category:Seirin High